BOOK TALK: Riding the road from Chile to Alaska

Some of us, like veteran journalist and author Peter Murtagh, hanker for the road. His new book, ‘From Tip to Top’, published last week by Gill Books, tells the story of his ‘journey of a lifetime’: riding a motorbike from Tierra del Fuego in Chile, at the very southern tip of South America, to the most northerly point in Alaska, alone and without the pressure of any deadline. It was just him, a tent, a sleeping bag and a BMW R1200 GS Adventure motorbike embarking a 45,000 kilometre route that would take 214 days in total.
In 2019, having retired from his 40 year career as a journalist, Murtagh was determined that retirement was not an end but a beginning, a chance to live life to its fullest. And boy did he do that! He did have a false start however. He shipped his bike to Chile in February 2020 and arrived to start his journey just as the country was locking down for Covid 19. Fortunately, he got the last flight out, returning home and leaving his bike in the care of some kind people.
This kind of kindness was something that buoyed him throughout his journey. Isn’t this one of the reasons we often hanker after that road less travelled? The rawness and beauty of someone who is willing to help us with nothing given in return, to help someone they will most likely never see again, is a wake-up call to all that is amazing in this world.

Inspiring tale
Murtagh set out finally on November 10, 2022, leaving Dublin for Punta Arenas in Chile to pick up where he had left off. I can’t imagine how he felt when he finally got on the bike and set out on such a journey; on his own, no deadline, just a vast continent ahead of him. Neil and myself did some travelling way back, and it reminds me of the feeling we had on our first day in Kathmandu, waking up to the beautiful sound of prayer bells – the rest of our lives on pause and just the day ahead to worry about.
Murtagh travelled slightly south to start his journey at Puerto Williams and travelled through Chile, traversing into Argentina, then on to Bolivia, across to Peru and up through Equador – with a trip to the Galpagos Islands – and back to Columbia and on through Central America.
One of the most memorable of his experiences is meeting migrants in the Darian Gap who were travelling from South America to Central America to get to the US. They were waiting to cross the jungle in their thousands between Columbia and Panama, with no roads and paying trekkers to take them through. Some of these migrants had travelled from China and were using this route to get to the US.
He then travelled along the east coast of Mexico after navigating many forms of officialdom at borders, he rode, via Santiago Matatlan, the Chiapas and Monterray, into Texas and Arizona, then up through California, Oregon and Washington. He even came across a Westport in California, a much smaller version. He also visited a gun fair – an eye opener in relation to the Gun Culture in the US.
Murtagh then crossed into British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon and finally into Alaska, ending up at Deadhorse.
As readers, we travel with him, seeing the landscapes and the people through his eyes. We see the detail that caught his attention and the exchanges in which he was involved. We see beauty and reality as he experienced them. We also feel some of the solitude and get to know a little of the man that makes Peter Murtagh. His book is an certainly inspiration to anyone who has a little bit of a hanker for the open road.

Reading and signing
We are delighted to be hosting an evening at Tertulia bookshop with Peter Murtagh and Gill Books this Saturday, April 27, at 7pm. The evening will include a reading, signing and refreshments, and all are welcome.

Bríd Conroy and her husband, Neil Paul, run Tertulia – A Bookshop Like No Other, located at The Quay, Westport.